Finger-ring.



PATENTED JULY 5, 1904. F.R.STAFFORD.

FINGER RING.

APPLICATION EILBD NOV. 16, 1902.

no MODEL.

FIG, I,

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awn/a UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

FINGER-RING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,504, dated July 5, 1904. Application filed November 18, 1902. Serial No. 131,820. iNo model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK R. STAFFORD, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Finger-Rings, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

Like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the tool for gaging flat stock for the ring-blank and for holding the same while it is cut by a suitable plunger into the desired lengths. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the ring-blanks from which my improved filled ring is made. Fig. 3 is an edge or side view of said blank. Fig. 4 is a view in vertical section of the drawplate and plungers, together with the stock therein undergoing the drawing operation. Fig. 5 shows, on an enlarged scale, a central longitudinal section (on the minor axis) of the cupped-up ring-blank produced by the operation illustrated in Fig. i at a time just before the bottom portion thereof has been perforated. Fig. 6 is a top plan of the blank after it has been drawn and perforated by the operation illustrated in Fig. 4.. Fig. 7 is an endview of the same. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the central piece, which has been removed from the ring-blank by the drawing and perforating operation illustrated in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the drawn and perforated blank shown in Fig. 6 after it has been opened out by a proper tool into the form of a ring. Fig. 10 is a top plan of the die for shaping and cutting the ring from the blank. Fig. 11 shows in side elevation the roll and in section the die (as seen on line :0 of Fig. 10) and partly in elevation and partly in cross-section the ringin position operated upon bysaid die and roll. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the finished finger-ring constituting my present invention. Figs. 13 and 14: are perspective views of the portions of the ring-blank which have been cutoff and re moved from the ring by the operation illustrated in Fig. 11. Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of my improved ring in the part thereof which is plane-convex in cross-section.

My invention relates to that class of fingerrings commercially known as stone-rings that is. rings Whose edges are not parallel throughout their entire extent, but which have a variation in breadth at different cross-sections thereof as distinguished from that class of rings commercially known as bandrings -that is, rings whose edges are parallel throughout their entire extent.

My present invention relates to gold-plated rings of the class described. Such rings as heretofore commonly made have been produccd in the following manner: A strip of base metal having a plate of gold soldered on one side thereof is struck up by repeated operations of a die and plunger and carefully trimmed upon the outline of the pattern so imparted, the gold-plated portion being placed downward in the operation of striking-up. Said strip is by this operation somewhat cupped, the plunger in such case not being flat-faced. The strip after it is so formed is out to a proper length and bent by a suitable roller into a circular shape, and its ends are united by solder. The inner side of the ring so shaped and cupped as aforesaid is then flushed with soft solder, and a plain tubular lining of gold-plate is placed within the ring and united by said solder to the ring-front. The edges are then carefully trimmed, so as to coincide, and the compound ring thus eompleted is then polished and finished off. Such rings, it is apparent, require long-continued and skilled labor in their manufacture and when formed must be carefully finished and polished. The rings, which are annealed and softened by the heat of soldering, are liable to be bent out of shape in wearing.

My invention consists of a jointless and sol derless goldq flated finger-ring whose edges are not parallel with each other, made as hereinafter particularly described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the'drawings, A is a steel bar, on the edges of which on the top are two guide-plates B B, held in place by screws, as shown. C

is a gage-plate having a slot at one end and a half-round seat at the other end. The gageplate C is mounted upon the top of the bar A and is movable thereon, so that the end which has the half-round seat can be brought to any line of the index D, (on top of the bar,) and when the gage-plate G has been so adjusted in position it is held in place by means of the thumb-screw E, which passes through said slot of the gage-plate G into the bar A, all as shown in Fig. 1.

The stock is in the form of a bar F, having a central longitudinal layer of base metal with an outer layer or plate of gold on two opposite sides of said central layer and united thereto, one of said gold plates being thicker than the other.

The stock has a half-round end, as seen in top plan in Fig. 1, and is inserted between the guide-plates B B and pushed along upon the bar A until said half-round forward end is seated in the concavity of the gage-plate C. To determine the precise length of the blank or section to be cut from said strip of stock. the inner edge of the gage-plate G is moved to the proper line on the index D and is held in such position by the thumb-screw E. A plunger (not shown) descends with .power vertically upon said strip of stock and cuts off a ring-blank G, forming the inner end of the blank G in a half-round shape and at the same time forming the forward end of the strip of stock in a half-round shape, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the openings a a in said figure indicating where said plunger has operated and removed portions of the stock. The ringblank so formed and cut off is shown in top plan in Fig. 2 and in side elevation in Fig. 3, in the latter of which the blank is seen to'be made up of a central strip or layer 7) of base metal or composition, the upper layer 0 of gold plate, and the lower layer (Z of gold plate, thinner, however, that the plate 0. The blank G is then operated upon as illustrated in Fig. A. A draw-plate H has an aperture 6 through it with an upwardly-flaring mouth. This aperture, as seen from above, has a narrow oblong shape with rounded ends. The ringblank G is laid centrally upon the draw-plate H with the thin gold plate (Z uppermost, the major axis of said blank coinciding with the major axis of said aperture and the minor axis of said blank coinciding with the minor axis of said aperture. A plunger J, moved by power, descends upon the blank G and crowds it down into the aperture (1 of the draw-plate H until the blank G is sufiieiently cupped and drawn thereby and its bent bottom portion is seated upon the end of the plunger 1. The plunger 1 has its lower end I concentrically enlarged, and the lower extremity of said end I is firmly held against downward movement or displacement by any suitable means. The plunger I and its end I are centrally, longitudinally, and continuously perforated, as seen at f, Fig.

4, the shape and relative size of said perforation being substantially as shown in Fig. 8. The plunger 1 is of a shape and size to loosely fit in the aperture 0 of the draw-plate H. Then, continuing descent and pressure of the plunger J perforate the bottom of the cupped blank G, removing a piece, (shown at K, Fig. 8,) which removed piece K, so punched out, is forced down into the opening f of the plunger 1 1' and is waste, gradually moved along by the succeeding operations and passing through said opening f to the floor or into a proper receptacle. The plunger I I is then moved upward, and its upper end forces the perforated blank out through the flaring mouth of the aperture 0 ofthe draw-plate H.

The vertical dotted lines in Fig. 5 indicate the portion of theeupped blank which is removed, constituting the piece K of Fig. 8. The horizontal dotted line in said Fig. 5 indicates where said cupped and perforated blank is cut transversely by a saw or other proper tool or instrument. Fig. 5 is drawn on an enlarged scale in order to show more plainly the cupping and drawing effect caused by the operation illustrated in Fig. 4 and how the bottom of the cup is disposed of. The punched or perforated blank so produced is shown at G in Figs. 6 and 7, where it is seen that said blank is oblongin shape with rounded ends and with a narrow oblong opening 9, said opening being caused by the removal of the piece K from the blank G, as already explained. The next operation is to open said oblong aperture by a mandrel or other suitable means into the circular ring form G with the central circular aperture 9, as seen in Fig. 9. I

In Fig. 10 is shown, on an enlarged scale, a die L, having a raised design extending longitudinally, the edges of which are sharp cutting edges ]L, as shown in section in Fig. 11, and the central portion depressed, as also shown in Fig. 11. One end of the die L is beveled, as seen at 7c in Fig. 10.

In Fig. 11 (which is on the same enlarged scale as Fig. 10) is shown a roll M, rotatable by power, and the ring G is placed upon said roll and rests upon the cutting edges it of the die L.

The die L is fixed upon a suitable horizontal bed and is stationary. The roll M has a limited horizontal movement back and forth and is so mounted and adjusted as to bear with great force on the inner surface of the ring Gr, causing said ring to receive the impression and configuration of the die L, as illustrated in Fig. 11, the sharpedges h of said die penetrating and cutting through the ring Gr, thus separating and removing the scraprings N N therefrom. The result is the finished ring 0 shown in Fig. 12.

Previous to the operation illustrated in Fig. 11 the ring Gr should be annealed to soften it. This enables the cutting edges it of the die L to penetrate said ring easily and shear off the pieces N N, as shown.

It is Obvious that instead of having the die L stationary and the roll M moving back and forth, as above described, the same result will be secured if the roll M rotates in a fixed line and the die L has a reciprocating movement back and forth.

In the manufacture of these rings from goldplated stockthe concave shape of the working surface of the die L causes a transverse stretching of the thick gold-plate 0 on the exterior of the composite ring G and bringing the thinner edge so formed on the gold-plate 0 into exact abutment and contact with the edges of the inner gold-plate d of the composite ring G. It also results from the transverse stretching of the gold-plate c of said ring that the gold-plate c of the finished ringis graduated in thickness, being thickest at the central peripheral line and regularly diminishing in thickness toward the edge on each side, as shown in Fig. 15.

If necessary, the edges of the ring O, formed as described, may be burnished down, and so the line of contact of the gold-plates c and d is wholly obliterated.

Instead of cupping up flat gold-plated stock, as already described, the ring-blank can be formed of a section of tubular gold-plated stock.

By my process hereinbefore described I produce a gold-plated rolled finger-ring whose edges are not parallel, but which has a variation in breadth at its different cross-sections, and, moreover, it is trimmed at the same time it is rolled, because of the sharp cutting edges of the die, as illustrated in Fig. 11. I believe that my said invention is the first instance in the history of the art in which a gold-plated finger-ring having a variation of breadth in its a different cross-sections has been formed by rolling. This method requires only a single operation and is therefore less expensive, much quicker, requires less skill in labor, and yields better results than any other known proeessof making such fin ger-rings. The pattern is fully developed in the stock used, the edges are accurately formed and trimmed, the polishing is imparted by the rolling operation itself, and not only is the surface denser, because the particles of metal are compacted together by the rollpressure, but the ring throughout is harder, stiffer, and less liable to bend than when made by the striking-up operation here inbefore described.

I claim as a novel and useful-invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. As a new article of manufacture, the jointless, gold-plated fingerring herein described, having a variation in breadth at different cross-sections and provided with an outer gold plate and an inner gold plate in contact at their edges, substantially asspecified. 5

2. Theimproved jointless gold-plated finger-ring herein described,-having a variation in breadth at different cross-sections and consisting of a central body portion of base metal, an inner tubular plate of gold and an outer 7 covering of gold, thick in the central periphery thereof Withits edges thinned andin contact with the edges of the inner plate of gold, substantially as shown. i

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses. i

FRANK R, STAFFORD. Witnesses:

WARREN R. Panes, HOWARD A. LAMPREY. 

